The latest way to "shock" music video viewers? Nope, it's not making gazers feel like they're tripping out on drugs while they're watching, a la Miley Cyrus and "We Can't Stop." It's putting not just scantily clad ladies, but fully nude women, all over your video. Yep, that's a naked lady in Justin TImberlake's "Tunnel Vision."

Much to the enthusiasm of my pop-loving girlfriends, I agreed to go to Wednesday's Ke$ha show at Ak-Chin Pavilion. The tickets were free, and we had a car with a driver, so I figured I could at least drink enough whiskey to dull the shame brought on by my seething metalhead soul.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by Ke$ha's own apparent metalhead-ness. And a little turned on, admittedly, by a video clip of a scantily clad Ke$ha rolling around in piles of vinyl records and stretching out on a Harley.

What I expected was a writhing sea of whored-out tweens and vibrant cross-dressers putting out a really obnoxious vibe. Maybe it was the whiskey -- or the cheap perfume-spiked confetti that constantly showered around us -- that muddled my mind, but what I came to realize instead was that Ke$ha is far more rocker than pop star.

​Dang, it's sad when a song climbing up the Billboard Hot 100 charts refers to women as hos and bitches. Such is the case with Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow," which had to be cleaned up extensively for radio play. The original "dirty" version is riddled with n-bombs, as well, but it's especially disturbing the women of Wiz's affection are ones he also calls derogatory names.

The song actually serves as a shout-out to Khalifa's hometown of Pittsburgh and his black and yellow Dodge Challenger, but Khalifa manages to squeeze in some jabs toward the ladies that seem pretty random and don't really have anything to do with hometown pride. "Got a call from my jeweler, this just in. Bitches love me 'cause I'm fucking with their best friends. Not a lesbian, but she a freak, though. This ain't for one night, I'm shining all week, ho."

There are so many things wrong with just those four lines. First, Khalifa is encouraging ladies to be alright with guys having sex with both them and their best friends--it's the cool thing to do. On top of that, you don't have to be full-on lesbian to please guys, but you better be OK with threesomes or with making out with ladies. It doesn't mean you have to date a lady, just be willing to hook up with one in front of a guy.

He's the lyrical epitome of what a man should be--accepting, someone who doles out sincere compliments, someone who wants his partner to be his equal, etc. And his current single, "Grenade," is yet another example of what a fine gentleman he is.

In the song, he sings about everything he's willing to do for his girlfriend, including die for her. "I'd catch a grenade for you, throw my hand on a blade for you, I'd jump in front of a train for you," he sings. Unfortunately, Little Miss Thang treats him badly and presumably would do none of these for him.More »

​Is it just me, or is anyone else completely shocked by Katy Perry's nomination for Album of the Year for the 2011 Grammy Awards?

I mean, don't get me wrong. As a person, I adore her. She's funny, sassy, confident and beautiful, and she really does have amazing vocal talent. Her debut album, One of the Boys, is still one of my favorite albums of all time. I've also interviewed her several times and met her in person, and she's just as charming as you'd expect. (Seriously, what superstar singer gives her interviewer a hug after the interview?)

In other words, Katy is pretty awesome. But her sophomore album, Teenage Dream, was a pretty big disappointment to me, someone who was one of her biggest fans when it came out. (You can read my review of it here.) It was actually less personal and way more manufactured than her debut, and it's spawned silly singles such as "California Gurls" and the title track.

​Leave it to Enrique Iglesias to channel lust into a dance hit all about f-ing. The Spanish singer just has this impossible-to-pinpoint, irresistible charm that excuses his chauvinistic qualities and makes him radio gold.

But at least he knows he's a pig, and this is the second song where he implores a lady at a club to forgive his forwardness. His rumored girlfriend Anna Kournikova better watch out, with all these groupies at the clubs Iglesias is going after. In "I Like It," he sang, "Girl, please excuse me if I'm coming too strong," and in his current single, the eerily similar, "Tonight," he belts, "Please excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but tonight I'm fucking you." (In the radio version, he so much more nicely substitutes "loving" for "fucking".) Well, Enrique, since you said "please"...

It's difficult to decide whether to commend or shake your head in disbelief at the pop singer based on her song, "We R Who We R." Horrible spelling aside, Kesha actually wrote the number one debut song in response to recent teen suicides among gay youth. She wanted a track to help people be confident in themselves and stay strong despite adversity.

That's certainly a noble cause, but unfortunately the song comes off as dumb. The people she's singing about aren't ones who are necessarily intelligent or out to make positive differences in the world. They're "hot and dangerous," make "the hipsters fall in love," wear glitter, ripped stockings and hot pants and hit on dudes--hard!

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​Does anyone else find the new Taio Cruz single with Kesha to be a little creepy?

It's called "Dirty Picture," and you can probably guess from the title the track is about Cruz getting his lover(s) to send me dirty pictures for his enjoyment.

It wouldn't as be as disturbing of a single if the song featured a monogamous relationship. We know that isn't the case, though, based on the music video. The clip features many women groping Cruz, so who knows how many dirty pictures he's getting and what he would do with them. This "Break Your Heart" guy likely doesn't care about the feelings of his conquests, so it's no surprise if these dirty pictures end up in the hands of his friends or splayed all over the Interwebs.More »

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Thank gosh Katy Perry chose to release something meaningful for her third single, not just a song about Daisy Dukes or losing your virginity. No, her current single, "Firework," is a very inspirational track that her fans really need to hear. It's a song all about believing in yourself and letting your personality shine.

She starts off the song singing, "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind wanting to start again?...There's still a chance for you, 'cause there's a spark in you, you just got to ignite the light and let it shine." She's singing this song to everyone: all the misfits who might feel like they don't have a place in the world. Perry's message is that everyone has something meaningful, and everyone deserves to show it off to the world.